Cong to contest 9 LS seats from TN in pact with DMK

CHENNAI: The Congress will contest nine Lok Sabha seats and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will field its candidates along with smaller parties for the remaining 30 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, as the two parties sealed an alliance for this summer’s general elections a day after the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) returned to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold for the electoral battle.

The Congress will also contest the lone Lok Sabha seat in Puducherry. The DMK – a key constituent of the Opposition’s ‘mahagathbandan’ formed to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – is in talks with the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) to finalise the seat-sharing pact for 30 seats.

The announcement came after DMK MP Kanimozhi and Tamil Nadu Congress president KS Alagiri met Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday in Delhi and returned to TN on Wednesday.

“Out of total 40 seats, nine Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu and one seat in Puducherry have been given to the Congress. The constituencies to be given to Congress will be decided in due course of time after holding talks with the alliance partners,” said DMK president MK Stalin.

“The negotiations were transparent and held at our party headquarters rather than in secrecy at a private hotel,” Stalin said in an apparent dig at the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) discussions over its seatsharing pact in Tamil Nadu that was announced a day earlier.

The BJP finalised its alliance with the AIADMK and the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) for the parliamentary elections on Tuesday, with the BJP deciding to contest five seats, and the AIADMK 25.